Dopamine May Influence "Good" and "Bad" Emotions

Our understanding of what is emotionally "good" or "bad" may be generated by dopamine transmitters in the brain, according to a study published in the November issue of Science. A team of researchers from the University of Colorado at Boulder found that dopamine concentration is linked to decision-making ability.

This finding is particularly relevant to patients with Parkinson’s disease, which is caused by lower levels of the brain chemical dopamine, explains Michael Frank, a graduate student on the CU-Boulder team. Parkinson’s disease medications artificially increase dopamine in the brain, but the CU-Boulder findings suggest that this surge in dopamine may have negative effects.

Analyses showed that patients on dopamine-supplementing medication learned to choose things associated with positive feedback, or "good" outcomes. Patients who were off the medication learned to avoid things associated with negative feedback, or "bad" outcomes. In contrast, the control participants learned to incorporate both strategies when making decisions.

Frank explains that these differences arise because "when experiencing a loss, dopamine levels are normally low in the brain, and the medication may prevent this from happening."

These findings may have implications for drugs that improve learning and decision-making ability.

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